Side bearing for railway cars



June 12, 1928.' 1,673,389 A. M. BRENNE I I SIDE BEARING PQR RAILWAY CAI-Is- Filed Feb. 9, 1925 Patented June 12, 1928.

UNITED STATES tenera PATENT OFFICE.

.ARILD M. BRENNE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, '10 W4. H. MINEIEL' INC., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

SIDE BEARING F0131 RAILWAY GARS.

Application filed February 9, 1923. Serial No. 617,943.

This invention relates to improvements in side bearings for railway cars.

@ne object of the invention is to provide an eliicient side bearing con'iprising few, simple and inexpensive parts. including an anti-friction element, and a rack and gear for effecting return of the anti-friction element to vcentral position. wherein means is provided to eliminate the bindingr of the teeth of the rack and gea-r when the device is operated under load.

Another, and more specitic object of the invention is to provide a .si-de bearingr of the type referred to, comprising an anti-friction roller element. supported from the body bolster of a Car. a rack fixed to the body bolster and a gear meshing with the raclr and loosely associated with the roller. with the weight of the gear supported by the roller element in such a manner. that the gear is normally adapted to rotate in unison with the roller element. due to the friction between the parts during return movement of the body and truck holsters to alined position, thereby insuring the proper return and centering of the parts, but with the parts so designed that the gear is adapted to slip with respect to the roller element. should the teeth of the rack and gear fail to register properly. when the device is operating' under load, and permit the teeth to register and thereby avoid crushing of the same.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawing, forming a part ot this specification. Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the ends of the body and truck holsters of a railway car showing my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view corresponding substantially to the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. And Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating a modified form of the invention. n

1n Figs. land 2 of said drawing, the upper portion or top flange of the truck bolster is indicated by 10 and the lower portion or flange of the body bolster is indicated by 11..

The bearing. as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 illust-rating the preferred form of the invention, consists, broadly. of a housing A. adapted to be secured to the body bolster; an anti-friction roller element B. within the housing A; a rack C, formed integral with the housing A; and a gear D meshing with tudinally extending rack C formed integral with .the .top wall 12, and upper bearing surfaces consisting of a pair of longitudinally extending spaced plates 17-17, located on opposite sides of the rack C and secured to the lower side of the top wall 12, as by rivets 18-18 The anti-friction roller element B comprises a pair of spaced anti-friction rollers 19 and 20, the roller 19 being formed with a laterally extending integral concentric stub shaft portion 21. on which tbe roller 2() is mounted. At the outer end the stub shaft 21 is reduced in diameter as indicated at 22, thereby providing an intermediate bearing portion 23 "of slightly greater diameter.

adapted rto receive the gear'D. The reduced end portion 22 of the stub shaft 21 is adapted to tightly engage the roller 20. the roller 20 being held in place by a driving fit, so that the rollers 19 and 2O will always rotate in unison. The anti-'friction roller element B is held in assembled relation with the housing A by a pin 24 extending through the axial bore 25 of the roller element B and provided with enlarged cylindricalen'd portions 26 and 27 loosely received for vertical play in longitudinally extending slots 2S in the side walls 13 of the housing A. The cylindrical portion 26 ofthe pin is formed integral therewith. and the cylindrical portion 27 is in the forni of a collar, held in position by the end of the' pin being upset as indicated at 29. f f

The gear D is provided with teeth 30 adapted to mesh with the teeth 31 of the rack C and has formed therein a centralbore 32 of slightly larger dia-meter than the bearing portion 23 of the stub shaft 21. to loosely engage the same for a purpose hereinafter described. y i

In Figs. land 2 of the drawing. t-he body and truck holsters are shown as separated,

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lll() lll) with the parts of the anti-friction bearing in normal position. The anti-friction roller element B, is shown, as supported by the truck bolster, with the lower sides of the rollers 19 and :20 hearing on the upper surface of the flange 10. and the upper sides thereof slightlyspaced from the lower 'faces of the bearng plates 1T-17. the enlarged portions and 27 of the pin 24 spaced from the upper and lower walls respectively of the slots QS. In this position of the parts the gear I) loosely engages with the rack C, and is supported on the upper side ot the hearing portion 23, with the wall of the bore 32 at the lower side thereof spaced slightly from the lower side of the bearing portion Q3, and the entire weight of the gear carried by the roller element. As the bearing portion Q3 of the stub shaft and the bore are ot relatively large diameter with reference to the size of the gear, large frictional contact surfaces are provided there between. and when the weight ot the gear is supported by the roller element, there will be suilicient l'riction to cause the gear to rotate in unison with the roller element, while the roller element travels on the snrtace of the truck bolster during the return movement of the body and truck holsters, causing the gear teeth to travel on the rack and thereby insuring the proper return and centering of the parts.

Y In the operation oi my improved roller side beariiig as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, as the body and truck holsters approach each other and move in horizontal directions relatively to each other, with the lower sides of the rollers 19 and Q() bearing on the upper surfaces of the truck bolster the plates 17-17 will be brought into engagement with the upper sides of the rollers, there being sutticent play of the enlarged ends of the pin Q4 in the slots 28 to permit of this movement. During this operation, the gear D will also approach the rack C, bringing the teeth thereof in a closer mesh, there being sufiicient play between the teeth to permit of this movement. Should the teeth of the gear be so positioned as not to register properly with the teeth of the rack. the friction between the gear and the bearing portion 23 will be overcome and the gear .slip on the bearing portion 23 ot the stub shaft so as to permit the teeth thereof to properly engage with the rack teeth, thereby avoiding crushing of the same.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the top flange ot the truck bolster is indicated by and the bottom flange of the body bolster is indicated b v 111. rIlle housing A. is in all respects similar to the housing A of the preferred form ot the invention and comprises, top wall 112, end walls 113 and side walls 111. The top wall 112 has the rack C formed integral therewith and is also provided with hearing plates 117 secured by rivets 11S. I'Vithin the housing A supported by the truck holster. and provided with the pin 124 having enlarged ends working in the slots 128, formed in the side walls 114, is the anti-friction roller element B', in all respects similar to the element B of the preferred form, with the exception that the bearing portion 123 between the rollers, and on which the gear is mounted, is provided with a roughened surface ."n the form of peripheral clutch teeth 110.

The gear D is loosely mounted on the bearing portion 12? and has the bore 132 thereot` provided with interior clutch teeth 14.1 adapted to engage with the clutch teeth 1470 to act in the manner oi a clutch. to cause the parts to normally rotate in unison, hut to permit relative movement ot the parts by the teeth slipping over each other. should the teeth ou the gear 12730 he so positioned as not to register properly with the teeth 131 on the rack when the device is under operating load. In this connection, it is pointed out that the rack and gear mesh with sutiicient looseness to permit the proper amount of upward movement of the gear D relatively to the roller B', to allow the clutch teeth 140 and 141 to ride over each other without causing any binding between the gear teeth 13() and 131.

The operation of the. modified form of the invention, shown in Fig. 3 is somewhat similar to that described in connection with the preferred form, and a further description thereof is therefore not deemed necessary.

From the preceding description it will be seen that in the side bearing constructed in accordance with my invention, all binding between the gear teeth and the rack teeth, due to improper registration, is eliminated and crushing of the teeth under load is positively prevented.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner ot carrying out the invention. but the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the. claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a side hearing for railway cars, the combination ot a retaining member provided with a rack. a roller within the retaininpr member, said roller being provided with an axially extending cylindrical supporting portion, and a complete circular gear meshing with said rack and resting on and loosely surrounding said cylindrical supporting portion and adapted to slip circnlnl'erenv tially relative thereto to permit the rack teeth to mesh properly with the gear teeth without turning the roller and also adapted to rotate with said roller.

2. In a side bearing for railway cars, the

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combination with a retaining member, provided with a rack; a roller element within said retaining member and bearing on the truck bolster, said roller element being provided with a supporting portion; a gear meshing with said rack and loosely mounted on said supporting portion of said element; and inter-engaging clutch means on said gear and supporting portion.

8. In a side bearing for railway cars, the combination with a retaining member provided with a rack; of a roller element within the retaining member, said roller element being provided with an axially extending cylindrical supporting portion, said supporting portion being provided with teeth; and a gear meshing with said rack and mounted on said cylindrical supporting portion, said gear being provided with `teeth normally engaging with the teeth ol said supporting portion.

4. In a side bearing, the combination with body and truck bolsters, said body bolster having a rack fixed thereon; a single antifriction element interposed between said bolsters and adapted to be normally supported on said truck bolster and to have rolling ention; and a gear element carried directly by y the reduced portion of said anti-friction ele-v ment and surrounding the same, said gea-r member meshing with thekrack of the body bolster, said gear member having means inter-engaging with the reduced portion of said anti-friction member to eiecta rela`r tively fixed connection between said gear member and reduced portion under normal conditions to assure rotation of said gear and anti-friction element inunison in the same direction as a unit, to position said antifriction element dependent upon movement of said body and truck bolsters relatively to eaeh other, said connection permitting relative movementof said' gear member With reference to the reduced portion of Said antifriction element when pressure in excess of normal is applied to said gear member.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I day of February, 1923. n

ARILD M. BRENNE.

'50 have hereunto subscribed my name this 3rdv 

